Over the past week, national trends showed a slight improvement for Obama. A week ago, McCain was up by three in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and now Obama is up by one. This trend is not found in the state polling.

There is no clear reason as to why these battleground state polls remained stable while the national trend moved in Obama’s direction. However, it is worth noting that Obama didn’t really gain ground nationally over the past week. Rather, McCain lost support.

It gets to the bottom of what is really the problem with our politics today -- we have the best politicians that money can buy. We will continue to do so at least until we have a viable 3rd party that can succussfully boot corrupt dems and repubs out of office.

We support the protection of reproductive rights, including the full range of reproductive options. We believe that personal and medical decisions are best made between a woman, her doctor and her family and out of the hands of government. We are deeply concerned with direction of our Party if it continues to endorse a social agenda that is both intrusive and alienating. Our Party is naively discounting its mainstream members for those who represent the extreme right and believe it is their way or no way. These obstinate tactics will ensure one thing - the inevitable erosion of the Republican Party to minority status.

Well, the American people briefly gave the GOP control of both the White House and Congress and lived to regret it. In less than 12 years the GOP managed to take on the worst of the bad habits the Democrats had developed in the 40 years of their iron fisted rule.

What happened?

The GOP became the Party of Big Spending, Big Government Buttinskys who proceeded to try and control our lives from cradle (attacks on a woman's right to choose and restricting stem cell research) to grave (Terri Schiavo) . Add to all that the Patriot Act and attacks on gay rights and interference in doctor/patient relationships and it is no wonder that now the GOP is seen as the Party that favors Big Government interference in our lives !! Boy have we gotten off course!

Planned Parenthood Republicans for Choice® (RFC) is dedicated to the preservation of individual rights and reproductive freedom. We believe our nation is best served by policies that support family planning and a woman's right to choose, and we actively support Planned Parenthood as a critical health care service provider, especially for women and young people worldwide.

"You don't get out much, do you AH? Republican Majority for Choice is one GOP group that supports reproductive choice for women"

I actually get out way too much.

Yes, there are Republicans for choice. Indeed, one unfortunate aspect of the recent primaries is that too many of them were running.

Democrats are sometimes pro-life too.

The problem is the Presidential nominees are invariably pro-life GOP and anti-life Dem.

"An interesting analysis by George Will about McCain's "Inner Queen of Hearts.""

Yes, he makes some good points

Both Obama and McCain have been unimpressive in the last week but McCain does seem more likely to talk before he thinks. He might actually be dangerous. The sad thing is Bush has been more impressive than either of them.

I can't vote for Obama because of aforementioned moral issue but I'm considering abstaining.

"Anonymous"Your statements that: "Democrats endorse the freedom to kill burdensome children who haven't been born." and "The problem is the Presidential nominees are invariably pro-life GOP and anti-life Dem." are incredibly ludicrous, insulting, and breath-takingly ignorant. I am not anti-life (nor is Senator Obama)...in fact, unlike you and most of your right-wing, ignorant of your so-called Christian creed wacko friends, I do not support our war efforts in places like Iraq (with the lamentable loss of 4,000+ American lives, not to mention the thousands of innocent Iraqui lives lost) nor do I support your adored death penalty, meted out to people you happen not to like. Your judgements make a mockery of your God.You make the false assumption that you have the right to determine when life-needing-legal-protections begins - I, and millions of other Americans, do not agree with your assumption. That does not make me "pro-death". I wonder why you do not support/advocate a national effort to replace the oft-sung ditty "Happy Birthday to You" with "Happy Conception Day to You". That, at least, is more consistent with your thinking.Cut the sanctimonious hypocracy, insults, and self-righteousness lest we end up thinking less of you!Citizen

The Post released a poll today showing Obama leading by 9 points. The polling for that poll only went through Monday however.

Three polls are out today, however, including polling through yesterday. On shows Obama's lead has shrunk in only one day to 2 points.

Things are moving fast.

Unfotunately for Obama, more details are emerging about his dubious past. From yesterday's Wall Street Journal:

"Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists.

The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Among other feats, Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Indeed, Ayers recently said his only regret was that he didn't bomb more buidlings.

Barack Obama's first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers's home.

The Obama campaign has struggled to downplay that association. Last April, Sen. Obama dismissed Mr. Ayers as just "a guy who lives in my neighborhood," and "not somebody who I exchange ideas with on a regular basis." Yet documents in the CAC archives make clear that Mr. Ayers and Mr. Obama were partners in the CAC. Those archives are housed in the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago and I've recently spent days looking through them."

NEW YORK (Sept. 24) - Republican John McCain said Wednesday he wants to delay Friday's debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama and temporarily put aside their partisan campaign to resolve the nation's financial crisis.

McCain's announcement came after the two candidates held private talks about joining forces to address the Wall Street meltdown. The Obama campaign said the Democrat initiated the talks, but McCain beat Obama to the punch with the first public statement calling for the two to rise above politics in a time of crisis.

McCain said the Bush administration's plan seemed headed for defeat and a bipartisan solution was urgently needed.McCain said he would put politics aside and return to Washington Thursday to focus on the nation's financial problems after addressing former President Clinton's Global Initiative session in New York. McCain said he wants President Bush to convene a leadership meeting in Washington that would include him and Obama."It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration's proposal," McCain said. "I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time."McCain said he has spoken to Obama about his plans and asked the Democratic presidential nominee to join him.

Obama's campaign did not immediate say whether he supported a delay of the debate or would also stop campaigning.

At the 5:00 mark, the Kenyan preacher says: "We need God taking over our education system. If we have God in our schools, we will not have our kids being taught how to worship Buddha, how to worship Muhammad. We will not have in the curriculum witchcraft and sorcery."

at 5:35: "The other area is the media. We need believers in the media. We need God taking over the media in our lives."

at 7:00, Palin is on stage being blessed by the preacher, who has now taken to speaking in what sounds like a bad riff on Jack Nicholson's character from The Shining. He prays that Palin be used as God’s instrument in government, and that she be used as a tool to combat witchcraft.

So -- (1) we need more God in the schools to combat Buddha, Muhammed and witchcraft, (2) we need more God in the media, (3) Sarah Palin is God's instrument for government, and (4) she is a tool to combat withcraft.

Maybe this kind of stuff is OK with you, but I think that's a minority view.

How's this for fast? Obama was up by 2.8% this morning after being behind McCain last week. Tonight more polls have come in and now Obama's lead is up to 3.5%. He's now leading in 9 of the 10 polls at Real Clear Politics

"Maybe this kind of stuff is OK with you, but I think that's a minority view."

Actually, you're in the minority. Most Americans are perfectly comfortable with the idea of God.

And, yes, Christians believe Budhists and Hindus and Muslims are wrong. No big scandal. Those groups think the same about us. Remember, everything you heard there was said in a church. They have an evangelistic mission. They think everyone will be better off if they can share what they've found.

Shouldn't everyone believe that?

"Things are moving fast.

How's this for fast? Obama was up by 2.8% this morning after being behind McCain last week. Tonight more polls have come in and now Obama's lead is up to 3.5%. He's now leading in 9 of the 10 polls at Real Clear Politics"

Apparently too fast for you. There are five polls including Tuesday data on that site not nine. McCain is even winning in one of those. Obama hasn't exactly closed the deal.

Obama had a surge earlier in the week. It's over. Duck, the pendulum's coming back.

McCain will go to Washington tomorrow and get the bailout plan passed. He can get the Republicans to compromise and by delivering them it will appear to have saved the day while Obama is touring orange groves in Florida.

Actually, you're in the minority. Most Americans are perfectly comfortable with the idea of God.

Well, sure, most Americans are comfortable with the "idea of God" but not with the idea of a single god being put in our public schools. Most people want good solid reading, writing, math and science education in our public schools, which bars the teaching of religion in schools (see Katzmiller v. Dover).

And actually, I'm in the "right." We have a constitutional wall of separation between church and state.

McCain will go to Washington tomorrow and get the bailout plan passed. He can get the Republicans to compromise and by delivering them it will appear to have saved the day

Uh sure AH, "appear" is the operative word in that thought. Let McCain try to take credit for the work the Senate has been doing while his poll numbers have been dropping like the Dow Jones.

McCain has been flipflopping from:

1. Being against bailing out Bear Stearns to suddenly supporting a bail out for it

2. Being against bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to suddenly supporting another bail out for them

3. Being against bailing out AIG to suddenly suppporting yet another bail out for it

4. Saying "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" to saying we are in a "crisis"

McFlustered bounces around like a ping pong ball, his opinions are all over the map and inconsistent. He is too unstable to be President. We do not need a hot headed "maverick" leading us willy nilly through crises. We need a calm steady hand like Obama, who has long been pushing for regulation of the mortgage industry, which started this whole meltdown. Obama wrote this letter to Bernanke and Paulson March 21, 2007, while McShame was touting more deregulation:

Dear Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson,

There is grave concern in low-income communities about a potential coming wave of foreclosures. Because regulators are partly responsible for creating the environment that is leading to rising rates of home foreclosure in the subprime mortgage market, I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.

We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes. And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly.

Working together, the relevant private sector entities and regulators may be best positioned for quick and targeted responses to mitigate the danger. Rampant foreclosures are in nobody's interest, and I believe this is a case where all responsible industry players can share the objective of eliminating deceptive or abusive practices, preserving homeownership, and stabilizing housing markets.

The summit should consider best practice loan marketing, underwriting, and origination practices consistent with the recent (and overdue) regulators' Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending. The summit participants should also evaluate options for independent loan counseling, voluntary loan restructuring, limited forbearance, and other possible workout strategies. I would also urge you to facilitate a serious conversation about the following:

* What standards investors should require of lenders, particularly with regard to verification of income and assets and the underwriting of borrowers based on fully indexed and fully amortized rates.

* How to facilitate and encourage appropriate intervention by loan servicing companies at the earliest signs of borrower difficulty.

* How to support independent community-based-organizations to provide counseling and work-out services to prevent foreclosure and preserve homeownership where practical.

* How to provide more effective information disclosure and financial education to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly and that deception is never a source of competitive advantage.

* How to ensure adequate liquidity across all mortgage markets without exacerbating consumer and housing market vulnerability.

Of course, the adoption of voluntary industry reforms will not preempt government action to crack down on predatory lending practices, or to style new restrictions on subprime lending or short- term post-purchase interventions in certain cases. My colleagues on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs have held important hearings on mortgage market turmoil and I expect the Committee will develop legislation.

Nevertheless, a consortium of industry-related service providers and public interest advocates may be able to bring quick and efficient relief to millions of at-risk homeowners and neighborhoods, even before Congress has had an opportunity to act. There is an opportunity here to bring different interests together in the best interests of American homeowners and the American economy. Please don't let this opportunity pass us by.

"Anonymous"What drug of choice are you on now?"McCain will go to Washington tomorrow and get the bailout plan passed. He can get the Republicans to compromise and by delivering them it will appear to have saved the day while Obama is touring orange groves in Florida." McCain has about as much influence on his own party members in Congress as Mr. Bush has! You love to harp on the fairy-tale image of the "'Knight in White Armor' charging into the fray and saving the day for the fair damsel in distress Repug propaganda. (I am envisioning one of those Daffy Duck cartoons that were once so popular). You need to turn your tape recorder off and come up with something new and interesting and important to say.The empty, vacuous, meaningless blather you serve up here is tiresome. McCain and his beauty-contest runner-up "soul mate" are roasted.Diogenes

"Well, sure, most Americans are comfortable with the "idea of God" but not with the idea of a single god being put in our public schools."

Monotheism is not a topic that is taboo in school or elsewhere. Other viewpoints can be expressed too. If those other ideas were banned, you might have a point but the idea that if we talk about Judeo-Christianity at all, it is tantamount to government endorsement is simply another way of saying that Judeo-Christianity is the correct view.

"Most people want good solid reading, writing, math and science education in our public schools,"

If they did, they'd endorse school choice.

"And actually, I'm in the "right." We have a constitutional wall of separation between church and state."

No we don't.

"Let McCain try to take credit for the work the Senate has been doing while his poll numbers have been dropping like the Dow Jones."

McCain has gone from a 9 point deficit a few days ago to leading by 1 point in one poll and being tied in another, the legendary Gallup poll, today. The one dropping, at least this week, is Joebama.

People are seeing through Joebama's vacuous rhetoric again.

We're in a serious situation. Joebama Cool, with three years in the Senate and scant attendance during that time is not the answer.

Reminds me of that movie from a few years back where the guy pretended to have credentials as a surgeon or pilot, among others things, and actually got hired.

What thorough, well thought out and complete argument against the existence of a Constitutional wall of separation between church and state. Here's the fitting rebuttal.

**Yes we do.**

In the interest of getting wingnuts' heads out of the sand, I suggest reading Jefferson's letter about this Constitutional wall of separation between church and state.

McCain has gone from a 9 point deficit a few days ago to leading by 1 point in one poll and being tied in another, the legendary Gallup poll, today.

Sybil is comparing the ABC News/Washington Post poll to the GW/Battleground Tracking Poll. The only single poll that will be accurate will be taken on November 4th. Until then, you average several polls together to get the most accurate picture of what's going on at any particular point time. Currently a 3.2% Obama lead has opened up and Congressional Democrats are preferred by more than 12 percentage points over Congressional GOPers.

The four national Presidential polls taken that include Barr and Nader show a 4.8% Obama lead.

People are seeing through Joebama's vacuous rhetoric again.

People are seeing that the GOP is more interested in playing political games than working to fix with this very serious problem of potential economic collapse the US is facing. Many experts agree we are teetering on the edge of a major abyss. All week, bipartisan groups of leaders on the hill who "get" economics have been working and were on the verge of agreeing to a plan when the McShame wing of the GOP threw a monkey wrench into the works.

McCain's an ass, he should get out of the way on Capital Hill and go back to trying to win support for the McShame/Palame ticket.

"I suggest reading Jefferson's letter about this Constitutional wall of separation between church and state."

Bea, Jefferson's personal letters don't have the status of founding documents. The Constitution was debated and revised by a consensus of the Founding Fathers.

Furthermore, it's quite obvious modern day liberals don't have the slightest appreciation what he meant by the term.

Read the last part of the Jefferson letter you linked:

"I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem."

If any teacher said this to a student today, they'd be accused of violating the "seperation of church and state".

When the Constitution was written, no one had any idea that schools would someday be a part of the government.

"That's right Anon, cling to a single poll of 1000 likely voters and ignore all the others polls that questioned nearly 10,000 more likely or registered voters.

All of the polls taken together show a 3.2% Obama lead. But you cling to the one poll if it makes you feel better."

Bea, you are such a propagandist. Do you have no shame?

The GWU poll is no smaller than any other. Yeah, if you take the other ten polls together they, in total, represent more people but those other polls are all older, some with data a week old. This race is moving fast and the trends and latest data are more significant than an average that includes polling a week old.

The 3.2% number you cite is, therefore, dated. RealClear's idea is to average the last dozen or so polls but they might want to rethink that and start averaging all the polls from a single day to make their data relevant.

Meanwhile, the Post had a poll taken on Monday that had Obama up 9points. The Post interpretation of that poll, printed on Tuesday, grandly asserted that, finally, one of the nominees has broken through the margin of error for polling. No other poll before or after found a similar lead. And yet, different news service are still putting out the story, based on that one poll, claiming Obama is breaking out.

Interesting how anytime anyone says Obama is breaking out, his poll numbers start dropping. There was a similar phenomenom during the primaries. Makes one wonder if people really like him.

"it is really clear what kind of sad political game Mcpalin is playing"

Can anyone read these things and, at least, try to see through the haze created by a media that is dying to see Obama win this election?

Here's the events:

George Bush was trying to put together a plan to bailout Wall Street.

Senate Democrats were afraid if they cooperated with the President, they would lose the perception of the public that the Republicans are to blame for the ecenomic crisis. Then, McCain could attack the plan with his own idea and appear to distance himself from the unpopular President AND the even more unpopular Democratic Congress.

Reid had his loyal subordinate, Barack Obama, call McCain and suggest that the two of them jointly endorse the bailout package.

Remember, Obama called McCain.

McCain said, actually I don't completely agree with the plan but maybe we can negotiate something. Let's drop campaigning for a few days and go to Washington and hammer out a bill we can all agree on.

Remember, McCain didn't blindside Obama. He told Obama his plans and gave him the opportunity to do the same before it was announced to the public.

Remember, McCain didn't unilaterally decide to become involved. He was requested to weigh in by both Obama and Reid, whose motive was to shield themselves politically.

To listen to the media spin, you'd think McCain just hatched some plot to exploit a crisis when the truth is that Democrats requested his involvement for their own political reasons.

Democrats were looking for McCain's endorsement and McCain said, no, I can't, in good conscience give that, but I'll work with you for the good of the country. McCain has some alternatives that might work better.

So, right now, we have the three most discredited institutions in America, the President, the Democratic Congress and the press on one side with McCain and a band of responsible Republicans on the other side.

Will the American people be able to see through the smoke screen created by the press?

The fact that today's polling show a trend toward McCain is an encouraging sign that they aren't as gullible as they seem.

Really, how many kinds do you know that throw whiny temper tantrums when they do get their way?

That's what the bizarre Duchy is doing in her letter.

Duchy got her way in the end, but along the way her staff and family endured harassment and even death threats from CRW supporters who hate LGBT people and want to deny them the right to work and acquire housing here in Montgomery County. Of course you think Duchy sharing those facts with the public is "embarrassment to the community". You and your community should be embarrassed at what you have done.

As a social worker, Duchy has a long history of caring for and helping people in all walks of life, unlike the CRW who prefer to only associate with people who are just like them. Anon has often complained that the government should not force people and businesses to associate with people they don't want to associate with, but Duchy and her supporters like me disagree. We think our Constitution gives every law-abiding citizen the same equal "unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." We call it American Freedom.

Conversely, CRW supporters steadfastly cling to their beliefs in ancient myths and want to force the rest of us to do so too. They are anti-science when it comes to matters pertaining to human sexuality, though I've never heard them complain about viagra, cialis, levitra, or breast implants.

The truth is that "CRW" meaning "Citizens for Repetitive Whining," would be the most appropriate name for these few local haters. They began expressing their public hate for LGBT people in 2004, when the MCPS BOE unanimously approved a few updates to our school system's sex ed curriculum in an effort to include helpful information for every kid who received parental permission to take those classes. But the CRW didn't agree with the bulk of the American medical community so they cried waaaaaah waaaaaaaaaaah waaaaaaaaaaaaaah as they sued and settled, filed a complaint at the county level and lost, and filed another complaint at the state level and lost again. Then, in 2007 the Montgomery County Council unanimously approved the expansion of our current non-discrimination act to include gender identity and the CRW zeig heiled, lied, petitioned on the lie that bath, locker and shower rooms would be effected even though the bill stated personal and private accommodations were not included, and the CRW lost in court again, waaaaaaaaaaaah waaaaaaaaaaaah waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Really, how many kinds do you know that throw whiny temper tantrums when they do get their way?

That's what the bizarre Duchy is doing in her letter.

She's an embarassment to the community to have that on its website.

Sometimes, you gotta call a spade a spade. Only in MC would someone be called whiny by a group called TeachTheFacts for speaking the truth.

Holy... Is that you, Nick?

I'm not a member of any group in Montgomery County. I'm simply an activist who was interested in the outcome of CRW's Anti-American attempts to block civil rights for a group of marginalized people. I'm still quite happy that their attempt failed completely and the law is in effect.

How many tantrums have you thrown on your blog about trans people simply existing, anyway? I tried to dredge through it and never reached the end.